The Influence of Urban Park Attributes on User Preferences: Evaluation of Virtual Parks in an Online Stated-Choice Experiment

Abstract

Urban green areas, such as parks, are becoming increasingly important in densifying cities. Urban parks encourage physical and social activity, recreation and relaxation, and thus eventually promote people’s well-being. The aim of the current study is to examine which urban park attributes influence the preferences of park users, in order to offer recommendations regarding how urban parks of quality can be designed. To elicit the preferences of park visitors we designed an online stated-choice experiment. Seven park attributes, in particular the number and composition of trees and the presence of benches, side paths, a playground, litter, and flowers, were manipulated in a virtual park. In an online stated-choice task, videos of these park alternatives were presented and the preferences of 697 participants were measured. It is found that especially the number of trees and the presence of flowerbeds, particularly with a diversity of flowers, influenced participants’ preferences. The presence of many benches and a playground were valued as well, but to a lesser extent. The presence of litter was found to be less troublesome than expected. Alternatives with all trees placed in one cluster were disliked. Moreover, significant standard deviations were found for the presence of side paths, a playground, and the absence of litter, which indicates that preference heterogeneity for these attributes exist. In a latent class analysis, two groups were identified, namely a Nature-loving group, who mainly valued the trees and the flowers, and an Amenity-appreciating group, who valued almost all attributes. It can be concluded that natural elements and a variety of flower species are important in an urban park, while facilities are evaluated differently by different groups of people. These findings may support park designers and policymakers in decision-making. Moreover, it illustrates the usefulness of creating a virtual park in environmental preference research.

Stakeholders’ Perceptions on the Role of Urban Green Infrastructure in Providing Ecosystem Services for Human Well-Being

“…Only the remaining 14 articles offer distinct methods to explore the contribution of UGI to WB through ES. Approaches used in these reviewed articles focus on subjective WB, using the participatory process, personal observation, experience, social survey, questionnaire, manipulated reality, or fuzzy cognitive mapping [20][21][22][23][24][25]. Others objectivize WB evaluation using literature review, field research, spatial analysis involving GIS and remote sensing, land use, landscape metrics, statistical methods [26][27][28][29][30][31], or a combination of subjective and objective WB evaluation methods [32,33].…”

Ageing Design of Urban Park Landscape Based on Computer Virtual Simulation Technology

“…As a result, it shows the value of establishing a virtual park in environmental preference study. Check out the full-length article [ 4 ].…”

The Use of Urban Parks by Older Adults in the Context of Perceived Security

“…However, there is not much current research on the direct link between the quality of path surfaces and their overall maintenance in parks in the context of the sense of security of older adults. It is also important to associate the perception of the sense of security resulting from this factor with another in this category, i.e., varied topography, which is discussed very rarely in the literature and mainly concerns the visual attractiveness of urban parks [ 160 , 161 ]. Only a few publications mention that general difficulties in moving around the park are one of the key factors affecting the sense of security [ 162 ].…”

“…The lack of amenities in this context may limit their physical activity [ 159 ], including the intensity of using parks. Additionally, a general diversity of park topography difficult for 60+ aged users to overcome may be one of specific attributes affecting their use of urban green spaces [ 160 , 161 ] and may have an impact on the perception of the area as safe or not [ 151 ]. The availability and safe use of parks are also determined by other features, such as walk slope and presence of mobility facilities, which are particularly demanded by the disabled and older adults [ 151 ].…”